Testy retort to tomato critics

They've never tasted better, says Woolworths boss Roger Corbett. "Our products have become much better and quality has significantly increased."

Bundaberg tomato grower Trevor Steinhardt was so sick of putting up with digs about the taste of modern tomatoes he planted some old seeds to check.

"The old ones were soft and had poor flavour," he says. "We proved that it's not true that tomatoes tasted better in the good old days."

Barry McGlasson, a University of Western Sydney agriculturalist and Woolworths consultant, says it is harder to grow extra-tasty tomatoes on a commercial scale, but not impossible. "Often it's a case of the technology not being applied properly."

But he acknowledges many consumers will beg to differ. "I suppose we will continue to argue about tomatoes for a long, long time."